Canon PowerShot A560 7.1MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Zoom
by Canon
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Our Price: $323.69 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $39.90 (click here) Category: Digital Camera See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Canon PowerShot A560 7.1MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Zoom
Customer Review: A560 A Great Camera
Summary: 5 Stars
I purchased this camera nearly three years ago. One thing, which goes for all new cameras...it that you have to committ the time to get to know your product, how it works, settings, etc. You can't just pull it out of the box and start taking once-in-a-lifetime family vacation pics! I always take out of the box and shoot stationary/fixed objects. I will shoot my backyard shed from my kitchen door, potted flowers [red] from my front porch, the tree in the parkway, my truck in the driveway, the flag [red/white/blue]. All of these will be taken at different modes and rates of zoom. At that point I will look at on my pc screen and make adjustments to the settings etc. If a camera plain out sucks, I bring it back asap!
My first digital was a Canon A80 nearly seven years ago which has worked great. My six year old son [who I grudgingly have to say takes better pics than my wife] is using it as his first digital [he trained on disposables for about 2 yrs.]. I bought this A560 to use on job sites to take before & after construction pics etc. I wanted something good that would not cost too much since I usually keep it in my work truck. It takes AA batteries and I have only used hi-end rechargables in it which last a super long time. With a 2GB card I have it set up to take about 1200 pics, which is way more than I will ever need at one time. A large card like this is nice when you want to take video clips which this does with sound. Never had a problem, many of the things that could be improved over the years have [size/battery/processor] to keep up with the market. I know that canon has a lot of new product in their line-up and that some folks have had mixed reviews with some of their entry level models. I looked at a few in the price point I paid for this one [$100-150] and some seem "hollow" and flimsy. I am in the process of getting a new camera for my wife and I'm probably going to buy a SD1200-is, it is the least expensive ELPH with the D4 image processor [their most advanced] and at $159. And like the old A80 and A560 it is solid and feels durable.
I have looked at many, many, many... models of cameras over the years from ALL of the major makers. I like and frequent [...] for excellent reviews, I like to read other end-user reviews also. I have always choosen the Canon so far for a good balance of price/quality/performance. Everyones needs are different. And there are some Canon models I definitely would not buy. I have had/seen friends and family use Sony and Nikon models I really liked but they were the higher end [pricey] compact models.
If you can find an A560 less than $100 new or a solid refirb at a good price BUY IT. It will be a dependable workhorse. And is better than all of the sub-$100 units from any make I have seen currently.
Customer Review: great cam
Summary: 5 Stars
It replaced a TX1 which died in a helicopter crash. 1/10th the cost of our EOS 20D but only 1/5th the picture quality. Very good quality pictures & taste in auto exposure priorities.
New NiMH batteries R a must. It won't work at all with old ones. Has poor battery contact. Shuffle the batteries and the low battery indicator goes away most of the time.
Very high speed continuous exposures. It can shoot full resolution, full quality frames at 1fps continuously, until the SD card fills up. It can almost replace an HD movie camera if U like timelapse or have very slow subjects.
BTW, it defaults back to single shot mode whenever it's power cycled. Also the shooting mode icon disappears when exposure is locked, a definite bug.
In still mode, there is no manual shutter below 1second and no manual aperture. U can use the ISO to get some shutter control at the expense of quality. It tries to take high shutter speed over narrow aperture. Daylight in ISO 80 gives U over 1/400 at F2.6. Daylight in ISO 400 gives you 1/2000. Exposure & focus locking work.
In movie mode, there is no ISO control, exposure lock, and zoom is weird. It uses optical zoom when not recording and digital zoom when recording. It uses digital zoom on whatever the last optical zoom was when recording video.
There is focus lock and exposure offset in movie mode. Movies are stored as JPEG and probably good enough to replace equivalent priced DV camcorders. An 8 gig SD card stores 1 hour of its highest quality video.
Unfortunately, it sometimes fails to initialize the CCD when powered up on a low battery. Try again and it usually works.
Customer Review: Canon knows digital
Summary: 5 Stars
Although my "big" camera is a Canon, I went through several cameras before finding this wonderful gem. I was very fond of my seriously outdated Nikon Coolpix, so I tried a new one - every shot was blurry, and I have a very steady hand (years of taking low-light and no-flash shots). I moved on to a Panasonic due to the many features, including awesome 6x zoom and a very handy "backlight" option. But the noise, even on as little as ISO 200, was unacceptable. Took a shot at the GE850 with even more features, but found a harsh flash and odd color.
Exasperated with the point-and-shoot market, I finally returned to Canon and decided on the 560. I couldn't be happier! It may not have the highest optical zoom, or the most formats (it makes up for the lack of 3:2 with an overlay that allows you to compose a shot within a 3:2 grid, excellent!), or the most modes (although several of the modes on other brands are so specialized - silly even - that they are worthless). But it has what counts - the most-used settings up front on the dial, excellent color representation, the least flash-fallout of any I tried, and exceptional quality even without image stabilization. And unlike the GE, the face recognition works on pets :) This camera does have a Manual setting that allows customized white balance, metering, color options, and exposure compensation.
I will not be trading this one in!
Customer Review: Wonderful camera at a great price
Summary: 5 Stars
I got this camera a few days ago and have been taking pictures of everything! This camera isn't packed with a lot of features, but the options it does offer are very nice. This camera is so easy to use, and you don't have to go through a million menus to get what you want. You can change the colors (from normal) to black and white, sepia, vivid, or custom color (lets you change the contrast, sharpness, ect.). You can also specify what kind of lighting you are in and it adjusts colors accordingly so the picture doesn't look strange. My favorite though is the Macro setting. This feature lets you take really close up pictures, and they look gorgeous! I've taken numerous pictures of beautiful flowers in my yard, and the pictures turn out even better than I thought they would. Also, when I hold this camera, it doesn't feel like it will slip out of my hand. It's small, but not too small. And not too slim either. Many of my pictures would have turned out much more blurry if I felt like I couldn't really hold onto the camera. Finally, it's very very easy to upload pictures using the software and cord they give you. The software installs quick and easy, and with one click you can have all your pictures you've taken. I would recommend this camera to just about anyone, especially people who are beginners in photography or who just want to take great pictures on a vacation.Customer Review: My first digital
Summary: 5 Stars
I finally bought this camera after doing quite a bit of research. I'm not a pro when it comes to photography, so I didn't need one of those expensive cameras with tons of options. I was merely looking for something that had decent options in terms of settings, high mega-pixels and was compact enough to carry around without having to strap it on your shoulder. Needless to say, this camera fit the bill perfectly. Adding a 2gb card to it gives me about 650 photos on the highest settings. The photo quality is just perfect for my non-professional eye, and I have yet to hear anyone say a negative word about the quality of the shots I've taken. It has enough preset options to take great photos in almost any setting, while also allowing for you to manually set the options for your shots. I was also surprised to see just how nice the videos turned out. Not camcorder quality, but for capturing a few minutes here and a few minutes there, it's more than sufficient. Loading to the computer was also a snap with or without removing the card.
Since owning this camera I've recommended it to every one that's been in the market for an upgrade from their cameras of lesser MP's. For the price you can't beat the A560. I'm looking forward to capturing a ton of memories for years to come.